


If I Could Talk to You Alone

by WinryDontShoot



Series: Facets of My Reflection: Celeste Stories [1]
Category: Celeste (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Height Differences, Intense Conversations, Stargazing, hints of Theoline, self-aware supporting character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 08:48:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20386960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinryDontShoot/pseuds/WinryDontShoot
Summary: Badeline just wants to talk to Theo alone about something.





	If I Could Talk to You Alone

**Author's Note:**

> let the celeste one-shots begin !!

Theo lets out a long, deep sigh, as he lets his turned-off smartphone fall into a distant corner of his backpack and heads outside.

It's a beautiful night. Soft whirling winds of snow. Smoke softly puffing from the cottage chimney just behind him. A brilliant sky of dazzling stars - Theo knows that this is a beauty deeper than could ever be captured on a phone camera. There will be no selfies right now. He has to burn this in his mind himself before he leaves.

His boots crunch thin snow as he leaves the cottage steps and stands truly under the midst of it. He could lose himself in shining white pinpricks and ocean blue nebulae forever. Might not be as unbelievable as the Northern Lights he and Maddy saw together, but it's a distinct kind of beauty all the same - the view from the very base of the mountain.

_Maybe I'll come back here sometime and get to the Summit for real._

Madeline is indoors, trying to sleep. Granny probably _is_ asleep. Mr. Oshiro went back to that hotel of his. Theo's stomach is full of strawberry pie. He had two helpings and then made sure to wrap up a slice for Alex. He just hopes it'll keep on the long ride home.

_Maybe I am meant to be lost myself, for a little while… I'm not unhappy like this. I'm just confused._

_Maybe I'm meant to be a support character for a little while longer._

He doesn't know how or if he can ever do photography full-time. He doesn't know what else he cares about enough to do for a living. But he sure does care about Alex and Maddy.

"…Hey."

Theo tears his gaze from the stars and looks behind him. At first he can't see who he's talking to, up in the darkness of the porch. But then Badeline emerges into the starlight. Pale lavender skin, faintly-glowing eyes - clothes fit for hiking, but an actuality that ignores that, as she leaps from the steps to gently float down to where Theo is.

Theo can't help but smile. Part of her aura still broadcasts defeat, but there's also something far tamer, a subdued readiness for whatever lay ahead.

"Goth Maddy!" Theo says, wondering what she wants with him, exactly. He has wanted to talk with her. It's just been weird to have her around this evening and not hear much from her, when he had shown mild interest in her. She hadn't ignored him, but she'd tried to stick close to Maddy and let her do most of the talking.

"The name's Badeline. It's kind of our joke, though. We're not taking it too seriously, since we're about to go home." Badeline crosses her arms, but gazes harmlessly up at Theo. She's still floating, but not high enough to account for their height difference. "I… I just wanted to talk to you alone, while I had the chance."

"Uh oh. Am I in trouble?"

"…No, that's not it. That's not it at all."

"Then what is?"

Badeline huffs softly and glances away. "I just… wanted to thank you. For everything you've done for Maddy."

"…Wow, really? That's good to hear - I've been trying to be a good friend. I think she's needed it."

"She did! Which is… part of why we fell apart in the first place. We didn't have the right support." Badeline's fingers shift on her arms. Her hold on herself tightens close to her chest. She tilts her head back, and Theo can see now that she is gazing at the moon, and its light reveals the concern and regret held in the bags beneath her eyes. She seems at last overcome by weakness and fatigue, whether from the climb or from life, Theo can't quite tell. But there also is war-battered peace in that expression. "We needed someone to talk to. You were open to everything. You wanted to understand us, you didn't think we were broken, you… you saw some worth in us. You genuinely believed Madeline is a good person. So now, she and I…" Badeline shakes her head. "Well, that's at least what we have to try and live up to."

Theo falls very quiet.

Badeline shoots a new look up at Theo - one that can't help but come off as defensive interest, though the rest of her demeanor broadcasts no fierceness. Her fingers begin to crawl up and down her arms. "I feel like I specifically have to thank you because… you advocated for me."

"What?"

"That night you spent with Madeline, you… you suggested something that was closer to the truth than what she was trying before. You nudged her closer to the right answer. Granted, we… we still fought, and it took more than that to get Madeline to realize what to do… but it was a start. So… thanks."

"I told her maybe she could control you. That wasn't the truth."

"She wanted to _destroy_ me before that. Like I said, it was a start. You… you really were the first person to advocate for me. I can't - I hadn't asked for that, and it was better than I deserved."

"You've got to move past that," Theo says. "The deserving nonsense. All of us are just people. You're not some kind of a criminal."

"I'm not some kind of a criminal, because I _don't have any legal status._ And… I get what you're saying, but... I really can't help but feel bad about the things I've done."

"…I think I said the wrong thing. I shouldn't try and tell you what to 'move past.' It… it can't be that easy."

"No," Badeline says wistfully, "it's not. But we're not fighting anymore, and Madeline's the best person to help me figure this out. It was hurting her to try and destroy me, and it did take a lot out of us over the years that we were fighting. It just… feels good… to suddenly not be fighting now."

Theo gets it.

"You can rest now," he says.

Badeline smiles, showing her fangs. "About to do just that. Madeline's waiting for me."

"…Why talk to me without her?"

"I just wanted to say what I had to say. She'll know soon anyways about this. We fuse, and we share memories too." Badeline pauses. Theo thinks it looks like she's about to start crying, but the way her gaze is fixed on the moonlight, it's not from sorrow. Badeline continues, "Madeline is about to realize the full extent of how much we owe to you."

"You don't owe me anything. Not after that incredible pie, anyways." Theo grins. "All I ask is that we keep on being friends."

"OF COURSE! See, this is it- you're exactly what we needed. He's perfect- wait, I- you didn't hear me say that. ANYWAYS we didn't have a friend like you before, and you steered Madeline in the right direction, so of course we're going to stay your friend!"

Theo chuckles. "You two have been fused all afternoon! You really are meant to go home as one person."

"…Yeah. I know I've made a big deal out of how great it is for me to have a body, but… truth be told, I think I'm ready to co-exist with Maddy." Badeline inspects her fingernails. "We've had fun. But things have gotten confusing."

"Do I get a Badeline hug while you still have a body?"

Badeline recoils. "You'll get to hug both of us in the morning anyways! But… okay, sure. I'll take a special Theo hug all to myself."

Theo turns and holds his arms open, and he's about to stoop like he would before to hug Madeline, when Badeline hops into the air and instantly is floating at his height.

Theo softly pulls her into his arms. Big, gentle hug. He wants to be careful with the nervous, meek, apologetic Badeline. He can be more crushing later when he hugs the entity whom he has dubbed Ultra-Maddy: _she_ can take anything. He hopes that a really great hug will be enough to encompass his feelings for her.

As for hugging tiny goth Madeline, she seems to be relishing it. She clings to his chest and she really does feel lighter than air. What is she feeling? Is she really _nervous_ around him? Theo can't see her face, but he can't help but happen to touch her hair. It's incredibly soft.

She's the one to break the hug, and Theo is surprised to see the mania on her face. "Wait until Maddy finds out about this! Ha! I mean- thanks, Theo. Again. For everything."

Theo shrugs, letting the stillness of the night fall over him one last time before they head inside. "What can I say? Easy every time."


End file.
